Text -- 2 Kings 4:1-4 (NET)

Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets appealed to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.” 4:2 Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil.” 4:3 He said, “Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. Get as many as you can. 4:4 Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers; set aside each one when you have filled it.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ki 4:1

¹ tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”

² tn Or “cried out.”

³ tn Heb “your servant feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

NET Notes: 2Ki 4:3

¹ tn Heb “Go, ask for containers from outside, from all your neighbors, empty containers.”

² tn Heb “Do not borrow just a few.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 4:4

¹ tn Heb “all these vessels.”